Latest changes will help expanded Moscone Center fit in

Updated 7:49 am, Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Photo: Courtesy SOM

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The new design for the corner of Third and Howard streets combines the upper floors into a glassed-in grand foyer offering views of the downtown skyline and playing up the Moscone’s visual prominence from the east. less

The new design for the corner of Third and Howard streets combines the upper floors into a glassed-in grand foyer offering views of the downtown skyline and playing up the Moscone’s visual prominence from the ... more

Photo: Courtesy SOM

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The prior version of the Third and Howard design, was focused more on the building facade than the larger surroundings.

The prior version of the Third and Howard design, was focused more on the building facade than the larger surroundings.

Photo: Skidmore Owings & Merrill

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The current version of the design facing Fourth Street is less imposing than earlier versions, thanks to the Third floor terrace that makes the wall narrower. But the structure still turns its side to the Children’s Block entry plaza at Fourth and Howard Street, which included a carousel. (Note: the bridge shown across Howard Street would replace the current span.) less

The current version of the design facing Fourth Street is less imposing than earlier versions, thanks to the Third floor terrace that makes the wall narrower. But the structure still turns its side to the ... more

Photo: Courtesy SOM

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The earlier design for the western edge of the Moscone met the plaza and carousel with a blunt metal wall.

The earlier design for the western edge of the Moscone met the plaza and carousel with a blunt metal wall.

Photo: SOM LLP And Cavagnero Associates

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While the overall design for the Moscone expansion has been altered, nipped and tucked, some portions have barely changed. This is the new version of how the building would meet the middle of the block on Howard Street, including a third-floor pedestrian bridge… less

While the overall design for the Moscone expansion has been altered, nipped and tucked, some portions have barely changed. This is the new version of how the building would meet the middle of the block on ... more

Photo: Courtesy SOM

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… And here’s how it looked a few months ago.

… And here’s how it looked a few months ago.

Photo: SOM LLP And Cavagnero Associates

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The most substantive change to the design is the south facade facing the children’s play areas. The top floor has been set back 75 feet, and a corner terrace on the second floor would be emphasized with trellises and a green wall. less

The most substantive change to the design is the south facade facing the children’s play areas. The top floor has been set back 75 feet, and a corner terrace on the second floor would be emphasized with ... more

Photo: Courtesy SOM

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A full-frontal rendering of the latest version of the proposed Moscone Center expansion. It would be located on the south side of Howard Street between Third and Fourth streets.

A full-frontal rendering of the latest version of the proposed Moscone Center expansion. It would be located on the south side of Howard Street between Third and Fourth streets.

The first piece of Moscone Center, completed in 1984, has a large porte-cochere that cuts it off from the street. The proposed expansion would extend to the sidewalk and climb 95 feet.

The first piece of Moscone Center, completed in 1984, has a large porte-cochere that cuts it off from the street. The proposed expansion would extend to the sidewalk and climb 95 feet.

Photo: Courtesy SOM

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Moscone West, at the northwest corner of Fourth and Howard streets, opened in 2003. Like the proposed expansion, it is clad in glass; however, the expansion would include stretches of ultra-clear glass to allow more views of the activities inside. less

Moscone West, at the northwest corner of Fourth and Howard streets, opened in 2003. Like the proposed expansion, it is clad in glass; however, the expansion would include stretches of ultra-clear glass to allow ... more

Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

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Latest changes will help expanded Moscone Center fit in

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Like a pickup easing into a snug parking space without scraping the convertibles on either side, the planned expansion of Moscone Convention Center now looks as if it might fit its setting and not do major harm.

In fact, the latest batch of changes to the proposed design should help make the south end of Yerba Buena Gardens feel more like part of the city and less like a zone for special events.

There's still work to be done, especially on the west end of the enlarged convention hall. But an earlier scheme that overwhelmed the gardens' play areas has been whittled back, and the latest designs use a variety of tools to soften what was shaping up to be a sleek but sterile behemoth.

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The refinements are part of the fast-moving effort to begin construction this winter of a $500 million, 300,000-square-foot expansion of the convention center that lines Howard Street between Third and Fourth streets. The first piece opened in 1984; three sections have been added since, most recently the glass-clad Moscone West in 2003.

Work will begin underground, with a broad exhibition hall beneath Howard Street to link the north and south wings of Moscone more extensively than now is the case. But the real change involves replacing the original structure with a three-story, 94-foot-high container of malleable, high-ceilinged spaces.

Out to the sidewalk

More by John King

The redone block would also extend out to Howard's sidewalk, instead of being slung behind an extensive drop-off zone for buses and taxis as is now the case.

The basic dimensions have been in place for a year, and they've been fought by critics who feared the supersized hall would overwhelm what now is a delicate balance of cultural and residential activities within the popular gardens. In the past month, though, the architectural picture has come into focus.

The biggest change involves the tall third floor: It has been pulled back 70 feet from the building edge that faces the children's playground, removing 15,000 square feet of meeting space. The remaining wall along the landscaped play area would have an outer screen of metal intended to hold vines that, theoretically, would give the new structure a natural veil.

This isn't as radical as the proposal by TODCO Group, which builds and manages affordable senior housing in the area. That organization wanted the west half of the third floor removed entirely. Even so, the playground shouldn't feel hemmed in - and the meeting space remains, now tucked behind the main entry.

On the Howard side

The design along Howard also is coming into its own.

Credit goes to the architectural team of Skidmore Owings & Merrill and Mark Cavagnero Associates, two firms with an eye for modernist craft. They've sculpted and honed in several key areas, sharpening the roofline in some spots and adding pockets of depth to the long glass wall in others. Also, large sections of glass would be ultra-clear in livelier areas such as the escalator landings at Third and Howard - unlike Moscone West, where the glass walls are so murky that the structure has a gauzy, lifeless presence most times of the day.

"We're trying for a strong civic face on Howard Street and a very soft face on the (children's) park," said Craig Hartman, the lead designer at Skidmore. "We want to make a non-convention convention building, a truly urban building."

That's not easy, given the internalized mission of such complexes to keep conventioneers captive from morning to night.

Hard to fit in

The strain of fitting in now shows most clearly where the structure would face Fourth Street; it's very much a side, with glass and metal skins that are all about finishing the box. The problem? That elegant blank wall rises alongside a plaza where there's a carousel marking the public realm within the block, including a skating rink as well as the playground.

In the next round of refinements there needs to be a recognition that this side - next to the plaza, kitty-corner to Moscone West - is a front as well. Considering the progress that we've seen, there's no reason to think the Moscone won't continue to improve.

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